Florida Ranks Third in Child Deaths Related to Abuse and Neglect

According to a report compiled by the Every Child Matters Education Fund, titled “We can do Better: Child Abuse and Neglect deaths in the U.S.,” Florida ranks third in the US for child deaths caused by abuse or neglect. Texas ranks first and California second. According to the report, 153 children died due to abuse or neglect in the State of Florida. But the report adds that underreporting of these types of incidents may mean that the real number is much higher. According to federal statistics, over ten thousand children died in the US from abuse or neglect between the years 2001 and 2007.

In the report, fatal child abuse encompasses repeated abuse that leads to battered child syndrome, or a single incidence of fatal abuse. Fatal neglect is defined as the child dying from a caregiver’s failure to act, whether that is over a long period of time or in a single incident, such as failing to supervise the child properly. Also included in the report are figures on child poverty in Florida; of the four million children living in Florida in 2007, nearly 700,000 were living in poverty.

It is a shame that Florida has earned this distinction. All children everywhere, no matter what their economic status, deserve to be loved and protected by their parents, their extended families, their schools, and the community at large.